AN Israeli strike on a school where displaced people were sheltering in the central Gaza Strip killed at least 17 people on Thursday, Palestinian medical officials said.

They said the victims were nearly all women and children.

The Israeli military said it targeted Hamas militants in a command and control centre inside the school, without providing evidence.

Another 42 people were wounded in the strike in the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp, according to the Awda Hospital, which received the casualties.

READ MORE: Al Jazeera rejects 'unfounded' Israeli claims about Gaza journalists

Among the dead were 13 children under the age of 18 and three women, according to the hospital’s records.

Israel has carried out several strikes on schools-turned-shelters in recent months, saying it precisely targets Hamas militants hiding out among civilians.

The strikes often kill women and children.

Health workers in besieged northern Gaza meanwhile warned of a catastrophic situation there, where Israel has been waging an air and ground offensive for more than two weeks.

READ MORE: 'Team Scotland': Argyll volunteers deliver aid to Gaza refugees

The director of a hospital said it is running short on supplies and first responders said they can no longer rescue people.

In a separate development, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced another 135 million dollars (£104 million) in aid to the Palestinians.

He spoke in Qatar on his 11th visit to the region since the outbreak of the war in Gaza.

The US has pressed Israel to allow more aid into the war-ravaged Palestinian territory.

The US hopes to renew the negotiations after Israeli forces killed top Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar (below) in Gaza last week, but neither side has shown any sign of moderating its demands.

Around 100 Israeli hostages are still inside Gaza, a third of whom are believed to be dead.

Israel’s invasion has killed over 42,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which does not say how many were combatants but says women and children make up more than half the fatalities.

The Israeli military says it has killed over 17,000 fighters, without providing evidence.

The war has displaced around 90% of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million, often multiple times.

Hundreds of thousands of people are crammed into tent camps along the coast after entire neighbourhoods in many areas were pounded to rubble.

Months of ceasefire negotiations brokered by the US, Egypt and Qatar sputtered to a halt over the summer.

The war has meanwhile expanded to Lebanon, where Israel launched a ground invasion more than three weeks ago after trading fire with the Hezbollah militant group for much of the past year.